Police: Man left dog in backyard without food for 3 months

A Tennessee man is accused of leaving a dog in his backyard for three months without any food. (WREG via CNN Newsource)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WSYX/WTTE) - A Tennessee man is accused of leaving a dog in his backyard for three months without any food.

Kellen Jones, 27, told police he was out of work and didn't have money to take care of the dog, WREG reports. Officials found the dog, named Nino, after they said they had been alerted he was left in a backyard.

Nino was taken to Memphis Animal Services.

"Nino has zero evidence of fat on his body. Nino is a skeleton with skin on him. Nino is lucky to be alive today. When you talk about the worst level of starvation, that’s what we're talking about with Nino," Alexis Pugh, director of Memphis Animal Services, told WREG.

Experts believe he may have eaten dead animals or even his feces to survive.